The EU is pursuing a mercury-free environment by phasing out dental amalgam, the continent’s largest remaining use of the toxic metal.
Representatives of the European Parliament and the Belgian EU presidency reached a political agreement (February 8) on rules to ban the use of dental amalgam from early next year.
Current rules prohibit the use of amalgam to treat children under 15 and pregnant or breastfeeding women. This ban will be extended to every EU citizen once the political deal is formally approved by Parliament and EU ministers in the coming weeks.
Certain limited exceptions to this prohibition will continue where deemed absolutely necessary by dentists.
“This is an important step towards a mercury-free future. I am very satisfied with the result – because we have ensured that such dental amalgam can only be used in medically necessary cases,” said Marlene Mortler (Germany/EPP) who led the talks for the parliament.
Dental amalgam – elemental mercury bonded to metals such as silver, tin, copper and zinc – is commonly used to fill teeth. Cremated corpses that include such fillings emit mercury from crematoria.
A Europe-wide policy to control mercury emissions from crematoria through the mandatory use of abatement technology was deemed too costly by the Commission when it proposed the rules, opting instead to phase out the medical treatment as mercury-free alternatives are available for patients.
In 2013, EU countries committed to the Minamata Convention, an international treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. As a follow-up, the European Commission introduced the EU Mercury Regulation in 2017 to limit and phase out the use, manufacture and export of mercury and mercury-added products.
Dental amalgam is the largest remaining intentional use of mercury in the Union estimated at around 40 tonnes in 2019.
Mitigation of socio-economic consequences
In some EU countries, dental amalgams remain the only publicly reimbursed treatment material, with up to 90% of patients not reimbursed for other types of fillings, leaving the poor disproportionately affected by the ban.
Lawmakers agreed to an 18-month derogation that would push back the ban’s entry into force to June 30, 2026, for those countries that need to adjust their compensation systems to cover alternatives.
“Ultimately, the ban on dental amalgam should not mean that low-income EU citizens can no longer afford adequate dental treatment in these countries,” Mortler said.
Similarly, exemptions for vulnerable groups and derogations for certain countries were welcomed by Dympna Kavanagh, chair of the Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe.
“Low-income and marginalized populations must not be left behind in this reform,” he told Euronews.
The export of dental amalgam is also banned from 1 January 2025, as it is a major cause of mercury pollution in third countries that often lack the resources to ensure environmentally sound waste management.
The production and import into the EU of dental amalgam will also be banned from 1 July 2026, despite calls from EU ministers to wait until 2028.
